The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought a response from former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri in a plea by Trinamool Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale seeking condonation of delay in filing a recall application.
Gokhale is seeking the recall of a July 2024 order in which the court directed him to apologise to Puri, a former assistant secretary general at the UN, and pay Rs 50 lakh as damages in a defamation case. In her lawsuit, Puri had claimed that Gokhale had “tarnished her name and reputation by making false allegations” about her financial affairs in “context of an apartment she owns in Geneva”.
Gokhale was directed to post the apology on his X handle, which should be retained for “six months”, as well as publish it in a leading English daily in four weeks. The damages should be paid within eight weeks, the HC had said.
Gokhale’s counsel filed the plea seeking a recall of the July 2024 decision, along with condonation of a delay of over 180 days in seeking the relief, claiming the ruling was passed without hearing him.
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